Give homemade applesauce an extra boost of flavor with this Slow Cooker Boozy Applesauce recipe made with whiskey, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon!

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Today is the day! Yes, it’s the day after Thanksgiving. Yes, it’s Black Friday. But it’s also the day that I drop everything and spend a good portion of my morning – and, most likely, afternoon – decorating our Christmas tree. Last week, I started breaking out the Christmas decorations, but I always save the day after Thanksgiving for our tree.

Decorating can be exhausting! And the only thing I really want to do after a day of decorating is sit down with a glass of boozy eggnog and a good Christmas movie. So I usually plan a meal in the slow cooker, or order a pizza, I can be as lazy as possible and just enjoy the glow of our Christmas tree! Just keeping it real!

And speaking of our slow cooker – and booze – I recently made a boozy applesauce that was absolutely, could-eat-it-by-the-spoon delicious! I made it with whiskey since we’ve ended up with a small stash in our basement. I’m not much of a whiskey drinker (unless it’s in eggnog). But I like to use it in marinades or when I feel like spoiling my husband with Chocolate Pecan Pie.

A boozy applesauce that’s full of rich flavor!

In my efforts to use up some of the whiskey we have, I’ve been trying to find recipes to use it in. Turns out, it’s pretty darn good in applesauce!

A lot of homemade applesauce recipes call for granulated sugar. But I used light brown sugar. The mixture of brown sugar and whiskey gives this applesauce a richer flavor that’s slightly caramel-like. Stir in some cinnamon and vanilla and boom! You’ve got yourself an amazing, homemade applesauce that you’ll want to put on everything!

Two of fall’s best flavors come together in a tart, but sweet Fresh Cranberry Apple Pie that’s perfect for the holiday season!

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I recently read an article that cranberry sauce is one of the most hated items on the Thanksgiving table. Hold up! Wait a minute! One of my favorite things on the Thanksgiving table is the cranberry sauce!

I don’t mean the glob of gelatinous cranberry muck that comes out in the shape of a tin can and needs to be sliced. Oh no! I’m talking about that whole berry goodness! I would eat a bowl of whole berry cranberry sauce on its own like it’s a dessert jelly (especially when Mom makes it homemade). I love it that much!

So like a hundred years ago, when I started this blog, I made a cranberry pie recipe because I wanted to figure out how to wrap all of that tart, cranberry goodness into a delicious dessert. My family gave it some flack at first. But they came around with that first mouthful of not too tart, not too sweet berry flavor baked in a flaky pie crust!

A new and improved holiday cranberry pie recipe!

So a hundred years later – or last weekend – I decided to pull out this pie recipe again after grabbing a bag of fresh cranberries from the store. I’ve made a couple revisions to the original recipe. This time, I’ve added apples (another fall favorite), fresh orange juice, vanilla bean, and other spices to the mix.

The recipe starts out like you’re making a fresh cranberry sauce. Add whole cranberries to a pot with fresh orange juice, sugar, and stir. Then, I added diced apples, vanilla bean, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Flour helps the filling thicken into a gorgeous, red, fruit filling that smells like the holiday season!

Pour the mixture into a prepared pie crust (we use store bought because I haven’t mastered homemade). Then, top it with another pie crust and bake.

Along with not being able to master a homemade pie crust recipe, I’m also terrible at crimping my pie crust edges and making any sort of fancy decoration on top. But I was able to make a pretty lattice crust and added a turkey cutout for Thanksgiving. Those pie edges? Made with a fork. It would be totally cool with me if someone could sign me up for a pie crust decorating class for Christmas!

My husband said this pie was a little too tart for his taste (it still hasn’t stopped him from digging into the pie plate though). But that’s because he didn’t listen to his food loving wife. I told him he should have warmed his slice up and added a nice dollop of whipped cream on top!

I would also highly suggest serving the pie with vanilla ice cream. It balances out the tartness of the cranberries. As for me, I’m a big fan of tart flavors! And pie! So I’ve been a pretty happy girl!

Did you make this Fresh Cranberry Apple Pie recipe? Share it on social media using the hashtag #livinglavidaeats. Don’t forget to tag me @lavidaholoka!

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Take your pancake game to the next level with this Apple Cinnamon Dutch Baby. It’s a light and fluffy skillet pancake that’s so easy to make and perfect for chilly, fall mornings!

It’s November, but we’re still going crazy for apple season around here! Baskets of shiny red, green, and golden yellow apples still grace the farmer’s markets, just begging to be brought home. If you’re anything like me, you’ll never grab just one or two apples. Nope! You need to bring home a five pound bag. A few weeks ago, I brought said five pound bag of Honey Crisp apples home. During the first week or two, we couldn’t get enough of them. They were just the right size for snacking and full of delicious, fresh-picked apple flavor!

Now, our bag of apples is a little lighter, but sits pretty much untouched in the fridge. I should also mention that we already had some Granny Smith apples lingering in our crisper drawer, as well! I guess an apple a day actually makes you sick of eating apples. We had enough sweets in the house (it’s baked goods season, after all), so I didn’t want to make a pie or apple spice cake. Then, I remembered the apple dutch baby that I used to make years ago.

I forget how old I was when I made my first Dutch Baby. But I can remember still living at home, watching my little sisters while both of my parents were at work. And I can remember cooking for them. This was one of my favorite things to make for us! If you’re not familiar with Dutch Babies, it’s basically a big, fluffy pancake. The Dutch Baby that I used to make had thin slices of apples in it, making it the perfect breakfast for a cold, Fall morning!

This recipe starts with simple ingredients. Simple enough for a young girl to master while watching her two little, twin sisters. It begins with flour, eggs, milk, and butter. Then, I add in Granny Smith apples and cinnamon. The Dutch Baby bakes in a cast iron skillet and puffs up, light and fluffy, kind of like a big popover. Sprinkle it with confectioners sugar and you’ve got yourself a delicious dish for breakfast, brunch, or dessert!

Okay. So here’s the deal. Most recipes suggest that you keep the eggs and milk at room temperature before making your batter. I find that as long as your cast iron skillet is preheated, you can basically take your eggs and milk out of the fridge, whisk up your batter, and add it to the skillet.

Also, as much as you may be tempted to look into the oven, don’t. You want this baby to puff up nice and high, like Dolly Parton’s hair. Dutch babies are best fresh out of the oven. Ditch the apples, make a plain Dutch baby, and top it with berries, jam, a chocolate drizzle, or whipped cream. Once you have one of these babies, you’ll never want a regular ol’ pancake again!

A simple apple crisp recipe gets a boozy update with the addition of whiskey. It’s a delicious apple dessert with a buttery oat topping, cinnamon and sugar sweetness, and whiskey infused flavor!

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The November issue of Martha Stewart Living arrived on my doorstep late last week. As I flipped through the glossy pages, full of succulent Thanksgiving dishes and sweet pies and desserts, I became inspired to get in the kitchen and make something. Also found in the pages of this magazine was a recipe for apple crisp. So I decided to make a boozy version inspired by the magazine’s recipe.

Traces of my baking session followed me in between the pages of my new magazine. Little bits of sugar found their way inside the pages – a testament to recipe success! Having a few different types of whiskey on hand, I tweaked the recipe to include a splash of it. Apples and whiskey are a match made in boozy heaven!

Boozy Whiskey Apple Crisp

Apple crisps are very easy to make. Cinnamon, sugar, and whiskey kissed apples fill the bottom of the pan. Then, the apples (I like to use Granny Smith apples) are sprinkled with a simple topping made with oats, sugar, butter, and a touch of salt. As the apple crisp bakes, the oat topping forms a lovely crust over the top of the apples. And as the butter melts into the dish, it turns the cinnamon, sugar, and whiskey into a caramel-type of sauce.

Apple crisp is delicious on its own. But served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top makes it even better! If you’re looking for an easy way to use those apples you picked in the orchard, this is a great way to transform them into something delicious!

Did you make this Boozy Whiskey Apple Crisp recipe? Share it on social media using the hashtag #livinglavidaeats. Don’t forget to tag me @lavidaholoka!